WHO’S IN IT?
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots), Michael Fassbender (Prometheus), Lupita Nyong’o (film debut), Sarah Paulson (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness), Brad Pitt (Fight Club), Paul Dano (Prisoners), Adepero Oduye (Pariah), Paul Giamatti (Sideways), Garret Dillahunt (No Country For Old Men), Scoot McNairy (Argo), Taran Killam (The Heat), Chris Chalk (The Newsroom), Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Steve McQueen (Shame), director, producer; John Ridley (Red Tails), writer; Dede Gardner (The Tree of Life), Anthony Katagas (The Big Wedding), Jeremy Kleiner (World War Z), Arnon Milchan (Jumper), Brad Pitt (Moneyball) and Bill Pohlad (Into The Wild), producers; Hans Zimmer (Inception), composer; Sean Bobbitt (The Place Beyond The Pines), cinematographer; Joe Walker (Harry Brown), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
The harrowing true story of Solomon Northup (Ejiofor), a free black man in 1841 who is kidnapped and sold into slavery wherein he experiences more than a decade’s worth of severe cruelty from his peers and white masters, most notably the sadistic Edwin Epps (Fassbender)…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
This is the Oscar contender we’ve all been waiting for, and for good reason; never shying away from the horrific truths of American slavery thanks to powerhouse directing and exceptional performances all round, 12 Years A Slave is a cinematic experience not seen in a generation.